❝her love was engrossing,
rampant, and enliving.
so much that,
she became an indispensable
part of him.❞
-j.o
After two tragedies that struck her deep into a depressive state, Carter...
Across the parking lot, Stefan stood at Carter's car, back pressed against the trunk. "Took you long enough," he jokingly told the strawberry blonde as she approached, causing her to roll her eyes. "Where am I going? I don't want to get lost," she replied, stepping toward the drivers side to unlock the doors. He stayed silent, only sitting in the passenger side. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she just went with it, getting into the drivers' seat and started the engine. "I have a date at eight, so let's get everything over with before, please," she added, causing him to look over at her. "With whom?" She rolled her head over to look at him, not wanting to tell him. "Stranger danger?"
He rolled his eyes as she laughed, backing out of the parking lot. Elena and Bonnie were standing at Bonnie's blue car, their eyes locked on the strawberry blonde. She waved, but they didn't wave back. They were too busy staring at Stefan in the passenger seat. "I live close to you," he told her, causing a chill to run down her spine. "Have you been stalking me, mister Salvatore?" He laughed sarcastically, looking over at her with an eye roll. "You wish, Miss Harmon. I just know your family's house." She nodded slowly, still a bit nervous about the whole thing.
"Do you really think we'll figure this out?" she asked, breaking the comfortable silence the two sat in as the car sped over the asphalt. Stefan didn't know how to answer. He stared straight ahead, his eyebrows raised. "I don't know," he honestly answered, sighing. Carter bit down on her lip, watching the trees whiz past. "I mean, it's not exactly normal. I know that." Stefan rolled his head to look over at the jittery girl driving. "Normal isn't really normal anymore, now is it?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. "I guess not. I'm driving a complete stranger to an unknown location. That's not normal." He laughed, fixing his gaze on the control console. He flipped on the radio, a song Carter was very familiar with coming on. "Boyz II Men? Really?" He laughed louder at Carter's expression. "They're legendary," she argued.
"I'm more of a Journey type of guy," he hummed, smirking. "Oh, so you're a rock kind of person? Typical." Stefan scoffed, his eyes falling on the white house that belonged to Jacqueline Lockwood. "And what's that supposed to mean—" Carter shushed him, her fingers twisting the volume knob to increase the volume. Stefan sighed, leaning back into the seat. So Sick by Ne-Yo began to play, and Carter was singing along. Her waves bounced as she moved along to the beat, her eyes locked on the road in front of her. Stefan couldn't stop himself from humming along, every once in a while pointing toward the direction she needed to go. The two were really getting into the music once Fergalicious came on, but their jam session was cut short when Carter pulled into the Boarding House's driveway. It was an old house. It was wood, and kind of pretty.
